A-B as a measure of external sensation seeking

Abstract

PROBLEMStudies of A and B professionals and undergraduates have attempted to define the personality characteristics of a A that would account for their effectiveness with schizophrenics. These studies have described the A males, in comparison to Bs, as more open to emotional experience(2o), more feminine('j8 lo* 12, 2 0 ) , less defensive in the social desirability sense (la, 14), cautious, submissive, unconcerned with sensory pleasures(2, 8 , 1 6 ) and neurotic (12, 20). In interpersonal situations As express more emotions, talk more about their own feelings, are less defensive, more feminine, and behave in a way that is interpreted as intuitive, empathic and emotional as contrasted with Bs, who behave more rationally and intellectually(8~ 9 ) . Seidman, et al. (19) describe the As as people-oriented and interested in providing service. Schubert and Wagner('*) also state that the As are concerned with other people, feelings and new ways of looking at things. The B males are described as emotionally controlled @O), responsible-hypernormal (13), oriented toward thrill-seeking or risk-taking (low harmavoidance, which is related to sensation seeking, @ l ) ) , concerned with sensory and physical enjoyment, dominant, s, 16), and cognitively oriented (19). Bs are more concerned with established facts and objects in the external world(18) and deal with abstract ideas, concepts, and mechanical things in a disciplined and cognitively well-differentiated manner ( l o ) . Based on these interests, McNair, Callahan and Lorr have suggested that the B therapist may have a more working-class orientation.These studies can be pieced into a composite description of the B male as emotionally controlled, responsible-hypernormal, somewhat defensive, and cognitively oriented, while A males are seen as open t o emotional experience or feelings, feminine, less defensive, and as neurotic. It appears that the B male is presenting a cultural stereotype of a healthy male on tests of personality (dominant, but not open t o feelings), whereas the As tend t o present a less stable, emotional, feminine picture. Because most of these relationships have been found only for males, the personality differences between A and B females are unclear. While women score mostly as As, they are not evaluated unfavorably ( i e . , in a neurotic light as are A males) because their emotional and feeling orientation is more consistent with the expected culturally defined role of the healthy woman.This study was designed to test this general personality description of As and Bs by the administration of several personality scales that tap the dimensions discussed. It was hypothesized that B males would score as extraverted, high sensation seekers, defensive (high social desirability), repressors of emotional experience, high in self-esteem and low neurotic. It was proposed that the females would show high sensation-seeking and extraversion. Further specific hypotheses were not made for females due to a lack of consistent results in the literature on the A-B di...